Stevens Capital Management LP Trims Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Stevens Capital Management LP decreased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 85.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,877 shares of the company’s stock after selling 53,658 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $586,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,364,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,923 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Altria Group by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,315,438,000 after buying an additional 886,583 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,724,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,620,229,000 after buying an additional 764,221 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 62.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $954,446,000 after buying an additional 6,302,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Altria Group by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,747,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $842,122,000 after buying an additional 132,846 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.67.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of MO opened at $67.49 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.82 and a twelve month high of $68.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $61.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.38.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. Altria Group’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th were issued a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 103.16%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.